A witch under a lavender moon

Happy Elaphebolia to all who celebrate🦌💚

🦌What is it?🦌 The goddess Artemis and the god Apollon had many festivals held to honour them during ancient Greece, one of which is Elaphebolia. It was held at Athens and Phocis on the 6th and 7th of the month Elaphebolion. On the 6th Artemis was honoured and on the 7th Apollon. This timing is because Artemis and Apollon are born on the 7th day of the 7th month and Leto was 7th months pregnant with them. Making 7 the sacred number of both of them. However, as Artemis was born first, she is honoured a day before Apollon every month, therefore marking the 6th of each Hellenic month as a day where she is worshipped and honoured. This year Elphebolia falls on the 6th and 7th of march, making it a perfect fit.

Elaphebolia gives the month Elaphebolion its name, to honour one of Artemis’ epithets, Artemis Elaphebolios (deer-shooting). Therefore this festival honours Artemis’ hunting aspect. As Artemis and Apollon were often worshipped together, since they are twins, the festival continued for another day to honour Apollon in his archery aspect.

🦌Offerings🦌

Traditionally cakes made from flour, honey and sesame in the shape of stags were offered to the goddess during the festival. This is a tradition you might choose to follow as it’s very easy to make these cakes for her.

There is not much historical information regarding this festival, but modern notions point to a simple rite to Artemis in her role as huntress and protector of wild life. The same can be done to Apollon Hekatos (far-shooter, relation to khtonic Artemis) or Agraios (of the Hunt, Hunter).

You may decide to build an altar for her and Apollon during the month of Elaphebolion or make an additional offering on their altar if you already have one. In the same notion, you may choose to incorporate them in your Ostara altar, as the vernal equinox falls in the month Elaphebolion. Furthermore, Artemis as khtonic Artemis (Hekate) holds relations to Persephone and the Eleusinian mysteries, from which I celebrate the lesser mysteries on the Spring equinox. More information on this will be provided in a next post.

Both Apollon and Artemis are gods of dance and music, so sing and dance in their honour! Festivities often contained singing and dancing as well. Create a playlist for them and go all out.

You may choose to do a group ritual with fellow worshippers of Artemis or Apollon to honour the gods in the afore mentioned aspects.

Helloo lovely readers! Today I am continuing my plant profile series. This is a series where I share my research and UPG regarding a plant, or discover a whole new plant. One of the things that I want to incorporate into my practice, is taking a lunar cycle to form a bond with a new plant ally and work closely with it. This means that on or around the new moon, I will pick an herb that I want to work closely with and research its history, folklore and traditional & modern practice. Then during the waxing moon, I will craft and meditate with the plant according to the moon phase. On the full moon, as my bond heightens, I will charge said herb under the moonlight or choose to incorporate it in a big ritual. As the moon wanes, I will craft workings with the herb according to the moon phase. During these moon phases, I will journal in detail how this herb makes me feel and what energies I pick up during these different lunar contexts. For the upcoming cycle, that herb is going to be mugwort. My initial research on the herb will be depicted here.

Names Latin: Artemisia vulgaris Folk names: Artemis herb, Artemisia, Felon herb, Muggons, Naughty Man, Old Man, Old Uncle Henry, Sailor’s Tobacco, St. John’s plant, mother of herbs (Mater Herbarum) Other names: Cronewort, Common wormwood

Plant profile Gender: Feminine Planet: Venus Element: Earth Deities: Artemis, Hekate Personal correspondences: Psychic abilities, dreams, astral projection and protection. Other correspondences: Strength, healing, divination

***Preface warnings*** Mugwort should absolutely not be ingested nor smelled in any shape, way or form by individuals who are pregnant. It can lead to miscarriages. Furthermore, people with diabetes should stay away from mugwort. Mugwort contains the neurotoxin compound thujone, which in high concentrations may lead to seizures and an abortive effect. Please be careful with how much mugwort you use and limit it to either a cup of tea OR as incense in a day, but not both.

Folk uses Stuffing a pillow with mugwort and sleeping upon it will produce prophetic dreams or aid with lucid dreams. Anointing divinatory tools with a mugwort infusion or oil can aid in divination. Placing mugwort in a bundle above the door will keep negative spirits from entering. This is because doors are liminal spaces that make it easier for spirits—whether benevolent or malefic—to enter. Mugwort can also protect its wearer when carried in a spell bag. Putting mugwort in shoes can help with strength and stamina during long walks or runs. A Roman invocation was used to say this when picking mugwort before sunrise: Tollam te artemisia, ne lassus sim in via. “I take of you, artemisia, lest I grow weary on the road.”

Apart from magical workings, the plant has also been associated with helping treat conditions in women like infertility, irregular menstruation and problems with pregnancy. This is where the name Artemisia might have derived from, as the Greek goddess Artemis was the goddess of childbirth.

Modern uses In modern times, mugwort is much beloved for divinatory purposes. Teas are made of mugwort and drunk during divinatory work or before astral projection & lucid dreaming. Mugwort incense is burned for the same purposes. This is because mugwort contains thujone, a psychoactive compound that produces an oneirogenic effect, or brings the consciousness to a dream like state. Often this is characterised by an immersive REM state, making it easier for us to access our subconscious mind and receive messages from spirits, deities or our subconscious mind. This is also why it aids in astral projection and lucid dreaming. Regular drinking of mugwort tea can therefore also help enhance and be more in tune with your intuition, to navigate daily life.

Folklore Mugwort holds a lot of folklore, dating back to ancient Greece. As it has a vast history and folklore, I will try to summarise the most important bits here.

Mugwort was first called Artemisia vulgaris, deriving its name from the goddess Artemis. The first association has already been deducted. However, mugwort has many more associations with Artemis. Despite it being ruled by venus, due to its psychic abilities, its long been associated with the moon too, which touches on the lunar aspect of Artemis. Its silver-green leaves further build upon this association, as Artemis is associated with both silver, as a moon goddess, and green, as the goddess of the wilderness. Hekate was regarded in ancient times as the khtonian Artemis, also being associated with childbirth and a protector of women, therefore mugwort is also associated with Hekate.

It was believed that mugwort would protect from malefic spirits on St. John’s eve, thus gaining it’s folk name as St. John’s plant. This was done by wearing a crown made by its sprays and wearing it on St. John’s eve. St. John’s eve, would be close and similar to Midsummer or Litha, making mugwort a perfect protective plant during this sabbat. During medieval times in the Netherlands and Germany, the believe was that if mugwort is gathered on St. John’s eve (and thus Litha) it would protect against diseases and misfortunes.  

Mugwort gains its title as mother of all herbs due to it being held sacred by various cultures and thought to be the oldest of plants. It’s particularly viewed as a plant that offered protection to humans. Before the discovery of hops, mugwort was used to give flavour to beers.

In the pagan Anglo-Saxan nine herbs charm—a charm to heal a wound of some kind—mugwort is one of the nine herbs invoked. The other herbs were chamomile, nettle, fennel, crab apple, plantain, watercress, chervil and cockspur grass or betony.

Harvesting yourself Mugwort is a weed that you can find in both the city and countryside. Therefore it’s really accessible to harvest yourself! Harvesting mugwort on the full moon or new moon for example, mainly due to its association with the moon, can be a potent tool and ally in your craft. Be sure to ask the plant for permission upon harvesting and give an offering in return. Especially if you plan on working with the plant spirit.

Personal uses Mugwort is a staple offering to Hekate and Artemis in my practice. I strongly associate it with them. With the upcoming Elaphebolia (6th of march), it’s a perfect offering for the goddess Artemis alongside for example a prayer. I also use mugwort infusion to anoint and bless my divination tools, mainly my scrying mirror and pendulum. When practicing with lucid dreaming or inner journey meditation, I drink an infusion containing mugwort alongside other herbs. I have yet to incorporate it in protection workings, but as I am entering this lunar cycle working closely with it, I am curious to experience its protective effects alongside its other uses. Who knows, maybe I will break a long-distance running record?

Thank you so much for reading this again longwinded post haha. If you have any questions or remarks please let me know!

Hey lovelies! Today I wanted to touch on the different forms of divination I use in my practice. These are ordered from most to least used. This way you can also gain insight into my experience with them. I will divide this post up in three parts, because while I was writing this post I realised it's way too much to put into one post. So this post will contain Tarot cards, Oracle cards and the Pendulum. The next one will be about the Greek Alphabet Oracle, scrying and tasseomancy. The last one will be about dream divination and music divination (Canticumancy). I hope you enjoy 💜 Tarot I think that this is everyone’s most used divination method and often plays a central role to many people’s practice. Tarot decks are based on a system, most tarot decks are based on the Rider-Wait-Smith (RWS) system. However, there are decks that are based on other systems, like Toth or Lenormand. I am only familiar with the RWS system, as this is the system my deck is based on. At the beginning of my practice I used to do a 3-spread tarot reading every single day, now that has died down a little. I however would love to use tarot more, but often when I want to practice my skills I find that I can’t think of a question I want to ask haha. I have a dedicated tarot journal, in which I record every reading I do. I write down the date, the moon phase and the sign the moon is currently in. This is then followed by my question. Afterwards I grab my cards and meditate on the question while holding the cards. I try to visualise the question as best as I can, making it as clear as possible in my head. Afterwards I say the question out loud if it’s a reading with a deity or spirit. Else I bring the tarot deck close to my mouth and whisper the question to it. I then shuffle till either a card jumps out or I sense that I should stop and pull the top card. I often do 3-card spreads for quick readings, as I find that 3 resonates with me. If want a long reading on a bigger topic, this will often be a 7-card reading, as 7 is a significant number for me. I then write down the following:

each card that I pulled

what stood out to me the most

my first impression of the whole spread

my interpretation of each card

my interpretation of all the cards together

any clarification from the guide book if I need it

any numerology if it seems significant to me

If I need more answers or clarification I will ask another question and also write this down. If it’s a spread I haven’t quite figured out yet, I leave some space for notes, so I can come back to it later.

Oracle cards Clearly cartomancy is my most used form of divination, as I placed tarot and oracle cards high on this list. Oracle cards differ to tarot cards in that they don’t have a set system. Often the author and designer of a deck have their own set system, therefore every oracle deck is different. Some contain 45 cards, some 20 and some 120 and every card in every deck has a different meaning. Therefore it’s harder to learn to read oracles. Beginners to cartomancy and divination are therefore advised to start off with tarot, particularly the RWS system. However, once you get the hang of reading tarot, oracles can be a beautiful addition to your tarot readings to add clarification or meaning to a reading, or as a stand alone reading. I often find oracle cards to be more straightforward than tarot cards, but I also find that the amount of straightforwardness depends on the deck. The Solitary Witch oracle, the first oracle I had ever bought, is way less straightforward and often let’s me interpret things a lot from the picture and title of the card. In contrast, I find the Season of the Witch oracle series (particularly the Samhain one) to be more straightforward with their meanings and symbolism. I currently own 4 oracle decks:

The solitary witch oracle: This one I often use for my sabbat altar or for spell work, not so much for readings as I find it’s hard to shuffle due to the coating on the cards.

The Season of the Witch Samhain oracle: This one I do daily readings with during October & November. If my tarot readings are more darker in nature I will reach for this deck for additional clarification or if I fancy myself a spooky reading I will use this deck.

The Season of the Witch Yule oracle: I use this deck for daily readings during December & January. I honestly don’t use it that much outside of the Yule season because I find it’s very festive and christmassy that it doesn’t suit my readings on other times of the year. I however love the Season of the Witch series as I find the decks really matching my energy and often being accurate.

The Witch Casket exclusive oracle: This one I got from the Witch Casket subscription box. This one I barely reach for, however it is quite useful as a vocal point in spell work, ritual or meditation. It’s very straight to the point with little art work, making it good for adding an additional layer of intention to spell work. However, I don’t do readings with this deck. I find the deck hard to shuffle due to the awkward shape of the cards (they’re in a casket shape).

Hello my lovelies! Today I wanted to share a spell I created for all my Lana fans out there. This spell came to creation when I realised that all the herbs Lana mentions in her song cherry are corresponding with love. As all the herbs except for rosemary are ruled by venus. Rosemary being ruled by the sun makes it excellent for manifesting. This spell is perfect for valentines day tomorrow or during the next full moon on Friday 14th of march. I put a positive spin to the chant, which is derived from the song, to make sure that no one here is going to manifest toxic love. It might feel unnatural for some and for others the derivement from the song makes it easy to remember.

Goal Broadly speaking, the goal of this spell is to attract passionate love. However feel free to adapt it to your intention, wishes and adjust as needed.

Timing This spell is best done on a Tuesday or Friday during the full or waxing moon. If you work with planetary hours and like to add extra intention, the Mars or Venus planetary hour works well for this. An honourable mention is Sunday and the sun planetary hour to add the intention of manifestation and happiness. Make sure to check whether the planet you are working with isn’t in retrograde. For example, Mars is in retrograde till the 23th of February, making it an unsuitable choice for the spell at this time. You can even choose to do this working in a more ritualistic manner and cast a circle, facing south while doing the spell.

Ingredients

A few cherries

Rosemary

Thyme

A peach chopped into pieces

Red rose petals

A tea light

Matches or a lighter

A cauldron or other fire proof container. A fire proof surface wont do as you want something that allows the energies to be “cooked” together or created together. A cauldron as traditionally used to cook and transform ingredients to food. Therefore a container or cauldron will help transform the energy of these ingredients to your goal or intention.

Your preferred tool or method for cleansing

Optional: A rose quartz crystal and rose, vanilla or lavender incense

Steps

Use mind calming, centre and ground yourself before you do the spell!!

Cleanse your items to your preferred method. This is the time to light your incense if you choose to use it.

Place the cauldron in front of you.

Charge your herbs with your intention and place them in the fire proof container in the following order (the song’s order): Cherry – Rosemary – Thyme – Peach – Roses. Make sure that there is a stable spot within the container where the tea light can safely sit. This is also the time to add your rose quartz if you choose to use it.

Now place the tea light within the cauldron.

Light the candle and call upon the fire element with your preferred method. I like to use the following: I call upon the fire element, Passionate and alluring, May you fuel this working with passion, So I attract a passionate love.

Place your hands near the set-up, focussing on directing your energy into the spell to add your intention to it while saying the following chant. Really focus on what your love looks like, what you want from it. What is a passionate love for you? The chant: Darling, darling, darling, I feel whole when I am with you, I feel whole, My cherries and wine, rosemary and thyme, And all of my peaches, forever cherished My rose garden dreams, passionate fire rising within

When you feel you have charged the spell enough, let the candle fully burn out. Then dispose of the ingredients as suited.

I often feel like my practice is not good enough. Or that I am not actually a witch and just faking it, or playing pretend. This feeling stems from me not being born in a family of witches or from “only” practicing for a year. From barely having any otherworldly experiences. For not being able to see or talk to spirits, for not being able to astral travel, for not actively practicing every single day. I tend to feel bad about myself and compare my path to that of others. Not only that, but I also feel like I will never be at the level I want to be, because I keep doubting myself due to this comparison.

I have to remind myself however, that these creators or witchcraft influencers we see online also had their own journeys and didn’t start at where they are now. I have to remind myself that progress isn’t linear and that all will come in due time. I have to remind myself I have a life outside of witchcraft and that witchcraft is here to enhance my life not hinder it. Whenever I start to feel this way, I tend to step out of the online witchcraft community for a while. This helps me align myself again with my own path and rationalise things. Especially since the online community can tend to be overwhelming, especially over on social media. It is what feeds the imposter syndrome for me. Seeing all those extravagant rituals, or people talking about their amazing experiences with x deity, or people being a witch since the day they were born can make me feel like a less of a witch.

But in reality I am not less of a witch because I don’t do spells every single day. I am not less of a witch because I haven’t been practicing for that long. I am not less of a witch because I haven’t worked with spirits yet. I am not less of a witch because I missed a full moon. I am not less of a witch because I haven’t read all these books.

And in times when I need to be reminded of it, I opt out and go through my book of shadows and look at the growth I have made as a witch and at the path that lies before me.

Hi my lovelies! I wanted to start this new series where I share my research and UPG regarding a plant. Apart from that I love working with herbs, this series also challenges me to connect with plants I don’t use often in my craft. However today I wanted to talk about lavender, my favourite herb in the whole universe.

Names Latin: Lavandula, with the two common varieties being Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula latifolia. Folk names: Elf Leaf (for the leaves), Nard & Nardus (for the flowers), Spike (Lavandula latifolia).

Plant Profile Gender: Masculine Planet: Mercury Element: Air Personal correspondences: Dream magic, sleep, harmony, peace, relaxing Other correspondences: Protection, love, chastity, happiness longevity, healing and purification Personal association: I personally associate lavender with the Greek goddess Hekate. It’s the second most offered up herb to her in my practice, with mugwort stealing first place. She seems to quite like it when I offer lavender to her.

Folk uses Most commonly lavender has been used for sleep. It works wonders to calm the mind and help induce sleep. Often lavender is incorporated in a sachet that’s then placed under a pillow or a tea is brewed with it. Lavender has also been used in spell bags or worn as a fragrance in regards to love workings. Clothing dabbed with the fragrance of the flower, attracts love. The scent of lavender is believed to attract men. The essential oil was worn by well you know several centuries ago to advertise their profession and through magic attract men. This last fact makes it an ideal herb for more intimate love workings.

It was believed that the plant was so powerful, if one looked at it while being depressed all sorrow will leave and the person will feel happy. The fact that the scent of lavender stayed for a long time made that the plant was associated with longevity. It was also believed that lavender would protect against evil eye and was therefore also added to purification baths. Lavender was often used in herbal baths by both the Greeks and Romans. It was also believed that a sprinkle of lavender water on the head of a loved one would keep them chaste.

Modern uses In modern practice, lavender has also been used to cleanse a space by burning it, incorporating it in washes or incense. Lavender is ideal for cleansing a space while simultaneously filling that energetic “void” that’s left after cleansing with relaxing energies. Alternatively, fresh sprigs of the flower are dipped in moon water to sprinkle water around the home. Furthermore, lavender is used for home blessing spells or potpourri. Many practitioners now still use lavender for it’s calming properties. Lavender will therefore often be added to ritual baths for this purpose or added to sachets meant to calm someone down.

Personal uses In all honesty, more often than not I will incorporate lavender in workings. Though, I will be honest and say that I do not use lavender for protection. I find that since it’s ruled by mercury it doesn’t have the desired effect I want. I often find herbs ruled by mars or the sun like nettle or juniper to be way better for this. The type of workings I will use lavender for the most would be those where I seek to add harmonious or calming energies. For example, you might want to carry with you a sachet containing lavender so that it calms your anxiety down. Do you have an important job interview tomorrow? Lavender being ruled by mercury makes it perfect to calm your mind down and perhaps aid you with communicating during that interview.

Would you like to do a working to aid in dream communication? Make a dream pillow with lavender and mugwort to help with that.

Have you been arguing often in a certain room in your house? Cleanse your space with lavender and rosemary and then hang some lavender in that room. Lavender is so incredibly versatile and truly a staple in my craft. It also smells incredible and the purple hues make my heart skip a beat every time.

Due to it being ruled by mercury it’s perfect for incorporating it in offerings to the khtonic epithets of Hermes. Being part of the mint family, it also makes it perfect for offerings to Hades. However, because of this same fact, in my personal experience Persephone doesn’t tend to appreciate lavender as an offering. As we all might know, Hades was suspected of having a tryst with the nymph Minthe, who then was turned into mint by Persephone out of jealousy. I personally tend to only incorporate lavender in offerings to Hekate. Lavender has been the first herb I ever deeply connected with, long before I became a witch. But through personal experiences within that connection, I have noticed aspects of Hekate. This made me realise that Hekate has been with me long before I became a Hellenic Polytheist. Therefore to me it seemed sensible to associate lavender with Hekate and makes it a perfect personal offering to her.

Hello lovelies! Today I would like to talk about a ritual that I created a while back. This is a ritual that is designed to grow or invite a certain aspect of your moon sign that you might or want to experience. Please keep in mind that this is a template and you have to do research on the herbs you’d like to add. As it’s impossible for me to write this ritual for every aspect of every zodiac sign. Before I dive into the ritual, I would like to reflect upon what a moon sign is.

What is a moon sign? Your moon sign is part of the big three (sun, moon and rising) in your birth chart and is the sign the moon was in on the day you were born. Often people also find significance in the phase the moon was in on the day you were born. As this is quite a complex subject, I will leave that part out for now, but definitely look into it if you’re interested in it! Your moon sign guides your hidden and emotional parts (think of the moon card in tarot). A birth chart calculator or an astrologer can help you find your moon sign and tell you more about the aspects that are relevant to you.

Why do a moon ritual for your moon sign? What if you want that extraverted character that signifies a Leo or Sagittarius but you’re a Cancer and very homesy. Can you then not do a working for a Leo characteristic? No, obviously you definitely can do that. In fact, if that’s what you feel inclined to do, I all the more encourage you to do so. However, what I have found within my practice is that the effects of working with your moon sign will be stronger. The energy of that particular sign already resides within you and your energy. Therefore it takes less energy to bring about these aspects, as they are already there and just need to be magnified.

The ritual

What do you need?

A candle in the colour associated with the aspect of your zodiac sign that you will be working on. E.g if you want to work on the inner-creativity of Leo you might want to choose an orange candle. If you plan on doing this ritual long term (e.g repeating it whenever the moon is waxing/new in your sign to magnify the energy and aspects) you might want to choose a big pillar candle instead of a chime candle.

Three types of herbs that correspond to the aspect, Taking the inner-creativity aspect again, you might want to pick herbs like cinnamon or sunflower petals. If you plan on dressing the candle with these herbs, make sure they are safe to burn.

Any type of oil that’s NOT an essential oil. However you can dilute an essential oil that’s one of your three herbs in this oil. Then dilute one drop of the essential oil in a good amount of the regular oil.

A candle holder or a fireproof surface/plate

A candle snuffer if planning to do this long term

Matches

Something to cleanse your items with (E.g smoke, sound, moon/sun water etc.)

Mortar and pestle (If you don’t have one you can use a coffee grinder)

A tool to carve the candle

Optional: A crystal that corresponds with the aspect of your moon sign.

Timing Depending on whether this is a hidden aspect or an aspect you want to grow, you might want to choose to work with either the new moon or the waxing moon in your sign. The new moon in your moon sign only happens once a year, while the waxing moon in your sign might occur multiple times in a year. Depending on this you might decide to make it a long term working or a one time thing that you repeat every year. Important however is that the moon is in your moon sign at that given time. To further add intention to it (and make it more complicated haha) you might want to do the spell during the planetary hour corresponding to the planet that rules your moon sign. Even better if the waxing moon in your moon sign occurs on the planetary day that rules that sign. E.g. for Leo you might want to work with the sun planetary hour and day. However this makes the whole ritual complicated and is absolutely not necessary, but just adds an extra layer of intention and energy.

Steps

Very important and not mentioned enough in spells: Ground yourself!! Even though we are drawing energy from the moon for this ritual, it’s still good to draw energy from the earth. This is so that you don’t deplete your own energy levels.

Cleanse the items you feel need cleansing by your preferred choice.

If you choose to use essential oil, now is the time to dilute it in the regular oil. After diluting it, you can charge it with your intention.

Charge each herb with your intention and place it in the mortar and pestle.

Grind the herbs down in a clockwise motion, as you’re seeking to attract. While grinding the herbs down, focus on your intention and your energy flowing from you through the pestle into the bowl.

Carve your candle with your intention from top to bottom. Keep it short so that it fits on the candle. Alternatively you can create a sigil for your intention and carve it into the candle from top to bottom. Top to bottom is done as you seek to attract something to you.

Now dress your candle with the oil from top to bottom.

Lastly dress your candle with the herbs from top to bottom.

If you chose to work with a crystal as well, now is the time to draw energy from it and put it into the candle or energetically connect the crystal to the candle.

Call upon the waxing or new moon in your zodiac sign. While calling upon the waxing moon, visualise (or whatever method works for you) your energy flowing from the top of your head all the way into the sky to the centre of the moon. Visualise the moon’s energy meddling with yours and then your energy drawing down the moon’s energy into you. Take your time with it and feel free to repeat it as how often you see fit. You can choose to use the following wording or adapt it however you see fit: I call upon the insert phase in insert zodiac sign, Hear my plead, lend me your energy of insert intention So I may insert something that your intention will allow you to do So mote it be! Here is an example of how it might look like for the example of Leo: I call upon the waxing moon in Leo Hear my plead, lend me your energy of inner-creativity So I may grow the burst of ideas inside of me So mote it be!  

As you have the energy of the moon in you now, add your intention to it one more time. This can be through visualising or any other method. Then let that energy flow from your hands into the candle. Really let all of it flow into the candle.

Now light the candle and meditate on your intention with it for a bit if you’d like. If you used a chime candle you can let it burn out. If you used a pillar candle, you can choose to let it burn for however long you like and then light it every time the moon is waxing in your sign.

Many of you might know that the Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle with eight sabbats (two solstices, two equinoxes and four fire festivals marking the midpoints between the solar events). This annual cycle was constructed by Wicca and took from older pagan celebrations. Many modern witches, regardless of whether they’re Wiccan, follow the Wheel of the Year, myself included. However, as I am a Hellenic witch, my religion often doesn’t align with the Wheel of the Year. In this blogpost I would like to go into why I celebrate the Wheel of the Year and how sabbats that have strong Celtic roots, like Imbolc, could still be celebrated as a Hellenic.

Why I celebrate the Wheel of the Year As a Hellenic witch it can be hard to try to fit the Wheel of the Year to my deities and practice. For some sabbats, like Ostara and Mabon, it’s easier. I’ve celebrated and perceived the autumn and spring equinoxes way before I became a witch through honouring Persephone, Hades and Demeter. However, Imbolc remains a hard one for me to celebrate through a Hellenic lens. Many might ask themselves, “Why celebrate it all then? Why go through the effort if it isn’t working out for you?”. There are multiple reasons why I try to celebrate every sabbat:

I do feel the energy shifts. For Imbolc for example, I am experiencing the energy shifting towards that of new beginnings, and thus it goes against my natural instincts and senses to not celebrate these energy shifts.

The Wheel of the Year connects me to other (non-Hellenic) witches and makes me feel part of the witchcraft and pagan community. As a solitary witch, my path can feel quite lonely sometimes. However through perceiving and celebrating the sabbats I feel connected to other practitioners of the craft. Therefore it’s worthwhile for me to celebrate the Wheel of the Year as a Hellenic.

The Wheel of the Year aligns with the natural world in my region and the solar and lunar events. My practice goes beyond Hellenism and these aspects of my craft align well with the Wheel of the Year.

How to celebrate Imbolc as a Hellenic🌼 Imbolc is also known as Brigid’s day and thus centred around the Celtic goddess Brigid. If you are like me and you do celebrate the sabbats while also being Hellenic, there are a few adjustments you can make to celebrate Imbolc.

The return of spring🐑 Even though it’s not the spring equinox, Imbolc’s vocal point is the coming of spring. Therefore you can choose to focus on this aspect of Imbolc. This is paired with workings for renewal, new beginnings, protection and cleansing. If you’d like to honour a Hellenic deity for this aspect, you might want to look into honouring Gaia or build an altar for her. She is the Goddess of the earth after all.

Honouring Hestia🕯️ You might want to choose to honour Hestia within this period. Hestia as the Goddess of the hearth shares this aspect with Brigid. Furthermore, Imbolc is one of the four fire festivals. That fire aspect can be embraced through the honour and worship of Hestia. You might also choose to take this a step further and work with Hestia for protections for the home and your loved ones.

Solar aspect☀️ Imbolc also marks the midpoint between Yule and Ostara, proofing to also be a solar event. Therefore you might choose to work with this solar energy embracing those brighter days ahead. This is an excellent time to also honour the Gods Apollôn and Hêlios. Even though most books on Imbolc will not mention them as deities for this time period, they are still Gods who govern over the sun. Whenever there is a sabbat with a solar aspect to it, I choose to incorporate Apollôn. He is a God who has been central to my life since I’ve been a Hellenic and therefore it feels wrong to leave him out of it.

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If you're a witch, you've probably come across the term Hellenism or Hellenic Polytheism. This is the polytheist pagan religion where there is a belief that the Greek gods actually exist and govern aspects of the world, universe and life (The Pagan Federation, n.d). Central are the ways where the gods were worshipped in the Hellenic period (the time period where ancient Greece was at its height). Culture and values of the Hellenistic period also make their way into Hellenic Polytheism (Wingington, 2018). It is however different from organized religion like the Abrahamic faiths. Whereas in Abrahamic faiths, worshippers feel like they will get punished for not praying to God, worshipping him or committing “sins”, in Hellenism this is not the case. This post isn’t here to be an overview of Hellenism and I highly recommend doing your own research on what the religion exactly entails. A nice start for this is: Kharis Hellenic Polytheism Explored by Sara Kate Istra Winter or Fel the Blithe on YouTube as a free but amazing resource!

In my opinion, Hellenism surpasses deity work or worship. For example, worshipping or working with Hekate or her archetype doesn't immediately make you a Hellenist. It’s following the Hellenic values like Kharis, Miasma, Arete, Eusebia and Xenia (there are more but these are central to my practice). It’s good to note that different scholars and followers of the religion will have different ideas of what these values/concepts mean. Therefore I won’t go into too much detail of what each of these values and concepts mean but here is a quick overview for how I interpret them. Again, I highly recommend doing your own research on these as I should not be the end all, be all of your research and it’s about your practice/relationship with the gods.  

Kharis: The relationship between you and the gods. This is out of the goodwill of your heart and not necessarily because you expect something in return, which would be the case if you were to work with the gods for spell work. Kharis can be done by regular offerings and talking/meditating to the gods.

Miasma: Mundane pollution that we pick up on in our day-to-day lives. It is important to note that this is not sin! By purifying ourselves to various method we spiritually cleanse ourselves so we may draw closer to the gods. In my practice, this is as simple as washing myself.

Arete: Doing your best.

Eusebia: Piety or humility, this is were you are reverent to the gods. This again goes beyond working with a deity as we know in modern witchcraft and is part of the worship in Hellenism.

Xenia: Sacred hospitality. Meaning to be kind and generous to those we do not know.

So far I have mentioned multiple times that Hellenism goes beyond working with the gods, like in modern witchcraft. Now that we have covered Hellenism, let’s get into Hellenic witchcraft. There are two main “camps” within Hellenism. There is a group of revivalist, who see the Hellenic tradition as a living one, where practitioners decide what feels right for them and adapt the ancient practices to modern life (Johnston, 2011). Then you have the group of reconstructionist. They seek to follow the Hellenic tradition as it was practiced historically and try to stay as close as possible in modern times to the historic practice. From here it gets a bit tricky. As there is an existing debate between revivalists and reconstructionists as to whether witchcraft is against the religion or not. The main argument here is that you are quick to perceive yourself as equal to the gods or use powers similar to the gods. I honestly am in the camp of Hellenism and witchcraft can coexist as Hellenic witchcraft. However, just like any traditional witch path there are some limitations as you try to uphold the above mentioned concepts. Therefore, we often do not see ourselves as equals to the gods. Moreover many Hellenic witches stray away from baneful magic (though you can absolutely do it and nobody should ever look down upon you for it!). There are also multiple sources stating that historically, witches were among Hellenic practitioners. Hekate being a goddess of witchcraft as well as Medea and Circe are a popular example of this. Furthermore, a book compromised of ancient Greek-Egyptian spells, rituals and texts known as the Greek Magical Papyri is an excellent example of this.

Hellenic witches also choose to follow the Hellenic calendar and often celebrate festivities for the gods they follow or adapt the wheel of the year to suit their practice and gods. Hellenic witches furthermore do not divert to other pantheons, that would make them an eclectic pagan. Many Hellenic witches also do work with the gods, but not as an equal nor a pool of energy. Often instead of calling upon or requesting help during spell work, a god is prayed to within a spell or ritual. Then depending on the god, an exchange might or might not be needed, depending on the Kharis between the you and the god. Devotional acts (devoting an act/jewellery to a god) are also a thing within the practice and it is usual for Hellenic witches to have a matron or patron god (the main/central god to your practice).

Okay that’s a lot of information and if you made it this far thank you so much! There is so much more to touch on, but honestly then this post would be way too long. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments or in my pms! I’d be happy to answer them to the best of my ability. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sources cited: The Pagan Federation. (n.d). Hellenism. Retrieved on 30th of January from https://www.paganfed.org/hellenism/

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Under the starry sky,

I find myself at the crossroads,

The moon greets me as a friend,

With its illuminating glow,

Under that white beam I find,

An ever-blazing torch held three-fold,

With a stern gaze, soul piercing touch,

Held tight as a bright light guides the way,

Obsidian pebbles mark the path,

To where I let go and create,

And as the air fills with lavender and myrrh,

As dandelions make their way from the underworld,

As I place garlic upon the threshold,

And walk through the gates,

To which the keyholder granted me access,

Knowing I am protected.

Hail Hekate!

Hail Hekate!

The moon is the center of my practice. Besides working closely with the moon phases, I also work with the sign that particular moon phase is in. I have found it adds an extra layer of intention and energy to the spell.